Walking Dead Producer Heads Up 12 Gauge’s Free Comic Book Day Offering

Gale Anne Hurd, a producer behind such genre hits as The Walking Dead, Aliens and Terminator, will debut her new series Anti in tomorrow’s Free Comic Book Day offering from 12-Gauge Comics. The series, which follows the exploits of an unwilling savior unwitting Antichrist-in-waiting, will debut its first full issue in July.The series, based on a concept by Hurd, will be written by Bat-veteran Peter Calloway and features a cover by Brian Stelfreeze. Hurd is just the latest in a line of high-profile artists from other media to make comics with 12-Gauge, including Trace Adkins and Rosario Dawson. Dawson’s project was recently optioned by Hurd as a potential TV series for A&E.”The mission statement of 12-Gauge is we want to do high quality crime and action stories,” explained Publisher Keven Gardner. “We don’t do a lot of books but the one we do we try to make really good, high-level art and story and cool concepts so we’ve been able to carve out a little niche.”The other side of 12-Gauge’s FCBD flip book is The Ride, written by Nathan Edmonson  with art by Paul Azaceta, this story will lead to a relaunch of the anthology series, one of 12-Gauge’s first back when it was founded.Gardner says that the properties have an easy appeal outside of comics and that often, the challenges faced by small publishers are very different from those at DC and Marvel.”Paul Jenkins told me once, ‘You do mainstream entertainment for a niche market.’,” Gardner said. “I had to think about it for a second, but what he meant–and he’s dead on–is that for anybody that watches TV shows and films, we’re really easy to get. We’re doing straight-up action stuff mostly. But for comic book audiences, we’re the fringe because they love superheroes.”Check out the cover and some preview pages below, and look for Anti/The Ride: FCBD Flipbook tomorrow at your local comic book shop.